To mark the Catholic Church's annual Respect Life month, Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh has written a pastoral letter that makes the church's opposition to abortion and euthanasia the foundation of commitment to a wide array of human rights.

"Much more is needed than simply legal protection against abortion and euthanasia. All Catholics, and all persons of good will, must promote a full and complete vision of the human person with its personal and social dimensions," he wrote before listing 21 facets of a "culture of life."

These included creating "an economy where all people have the necessities of human life and care, and where racism, sexism and ageism are no longer tolerated." Opposing unjust war, human trafficking and the death penalty were on the list, as was supporting heterosexual marriage and resisting reliance on artificial contraception.

The letter, "The Church Living!" urges various groups, from priests to parents, to live as if these issues matter. Politicians were last on his list.

"Public officials must avoid the sad and morally bankrupt positions that prevent the protection of human life. Rather they must support the dignity of all persons, whatever their age, race, gender, stage of development, or citizenship status," he wrote. "Public officials who wish to honor their identity as Catholics are called to live by the same church teachings as the rest of the faithful."

The letter, to be published in The Pittsburgh Catholic, cites teaching from Pope John XXIII in the early 1960s to the current Pope Benedict XVI.

"I have searched the English-speaking Catholic world, and haven't seen a single pastoral letter from a bishop that is as wide-ranging on life issues in more than 15 years," said the Rev. Frank Almade, pastor of St. Juan Diego in Sharpsville and a former head of what is now the diocesan Secretariat for Social Concerns.

"The irony is that the Vatican keeps being comprehensive, but we don't see it at the local level. Bishop Zubik's letter should be welcomed far beyond the boundaries of the Pittsburgh diocese."

Bishop Zubik said he wrote it after conversations during and after the 2008 election convinced him that people inside and outside the church were confused about Catholic social teaching.

"The critical bookends are abortion and euthanasia. They do have a pre-eminent importance. But my concern is that there are a lot of other issues along the spectrum and it's important to be reminded what that spectrum is," he said yesterday.

"Church teaching was never meant to focus on just abortion and euthanasia. And concern for other issues doesn't diminish the church's commitment on abortion and euthanasia."

He consulted others about this letter, but wrote most of it in the seminary chapel while praying over the text, he said.

"No one Christian, no one citizen, can address all of these issues, yet the entire church community ... is concerned when any threat to human life is promoted or practiced in our country or anywhere else in the world," he wrote.

Helen Cindrich, executive director of the regional organization People Concerned for the Unborn Child, said she knows that Bishop Zubik cares deeply about abortion, but predicted that some people inside and outside the pro-life movement would be upset that he hadn't chosen one cause to the exclusion of others.

"I truly appreciate that our bishop has put an emphasis on his interest in the abortion issue. But he also knows that everything else that we do in other areas is all connected," she said.

The letter is at www.diopitt.org

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